Hazel Technologies Completes Pear Trials With Cornell University

CHICAGO, IL – Hazel Technologies, Inc. has successfully completed research trials with Cornell University to validate a new post-harvest technology, which expands the shelf life of the delicate fruit by three-times. Hazel Technologies, Inc. will make the Hazel® Pear technology available to growers and packers during the 2018 pear season.

“Growers and packers want to see third-party data on new products from trusted academic institutions,” said Adam Preslar, COO and Co-Founder of Hazel Technologies. “The project with Cornell University, an institution highly-respected by the pome fruit industry, has already caught the attention of some of the largest pear brands in the industry.”

The fragility of pears has consistently posed a problem for growers in the past, when overripe, pears become particularly vulnerable to shrinkage. This adaption, which researchers tested in an environment analogous to the retail marketplace, will curve the impact of the fruit's delicacy.

Dr. Christopher Watkins, a post-harvest tree fruit specialist, lead the study through the Cornell Cooperative Extension program, which focuses on tree fruit and the commercial use of 1-Methylcyloprpene on (1-MCP) on pome fruit. In the study, Watkins and his team found that treated pears have 95 percent internal color retention following three weeks of treatment.

Read details of the trial here and to stay in the know on all produce innovations, keep reading AndNowUKnow.